Remote collaboration

A really useful collaboration workflow for big projects that require reviewing or comments from remote locations: Simply copy the project and all its media onto an external hard drive. Drives are not very expensive these days. (Be sure that it is formated for the remote system – Windows or Mac.) Ship the drive to where your collaborator (with a compatible Avid system) is located.

Your collaborator drags the project into his or her projects folder. All you do now is email the OMF of your cut as an attachment, to the collaborator. (OMF is a relatively small file.) Changes can be made, markers with comments, tweaks, grades – whatever… When the new OMF is sent back to you you have a fully updated timeline which links seamlessly to your local media. Of course any rendered effects and titles will need to be recreated or rendered – but these are quick one-step operations.

Repeat as required, making sure you label the different versions sensibly to avoid confusion or updating the wrong timeline.

Brilliant. Works across platforms.

~ by schmidtsk on April 30, 2008.